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I made a point of calling at Southampton’s Gordon Memorial last month, despite the baking, evening sun. General Gordon was a Victorian, British governor of Sudan whose job was to evacuate civilians and those loyal to Britain in the wake of Muhammad Ahmad and his army, better known as the Mahdi, a false Islamic messiah.

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Chichester Guildhall is now a private venue in which, appropriately, civil weddings take place. Prior to this, it was used for civil government but before the Reformation, Franciscan worship. In 1803, it hosted the trial of the poet William Blake for sedition, for having allegedly said:

Posted 4 days 24 min ago

Gloucester Cathedral I called at twenty-five years ago. Then, I had little interest in churches and cathedrals other than the cursory. Returning yesterday, a large choir festival was being planned and rehearsed, which gave the place a rather chaotic and cluttered feel, visitors only allowed to enter after midday, stepping over chairs and discarded barriers.